Educational Technology for our Youngest Learners

Main Menu

At What Point is Crowdsourcing Just Plain Laziness?

I am part of a community of sharers! “The knowledge is in the group!” is what we have been saying for the 14 years I have been an independent school technologist. I agree with that wholeheartedly and preach it, teach it, live it (copyright gmd 2012). However, a question came on a listserve that made me ask the question “At what point is crowdsourcing just plain laziness?”

The question that came into question was about iPad apps. I have had the fortune of having a three year head start on researching mobile devices. As a result, I can be considered at the expert level. But more importantly, I have worked with my colleagues and shared all my knowledge with them and built a real community around teaching with iPads and mobile devices. Recently, a question came into the listserve asking for a list of iPad apps that people are using in their first and second grade classrooms. When I have this kind of “give me ALL of your KNOWLEDGE” kind of question, I do the following: I google it, I read reviews and I try things out. When I do tweet or use a listserve, my questions are more focused and specific like “Has anyone discovered a great app for 3-D sculpturing on the iPad? I am using … and think … “. Usually, I have some frame of reference and I feel like I can begin an exchange as opposed to these types of parasitic questions. Crowdsourcing is developing “Tech Parasites” (copyright SpecialKRB 2012). Or is it me?